THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT ASHEVILLE
FACULTY SENATE
Senate Document Number 1592S
Date of Senate Approval 3/5/92
Signature of Senate Chair __________________________ Date________
Action of Vice Chancellor:
Approval _______________________________ Date________________
Denied _______________________________ Date________________
Reasons for denial and suggested modifications:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Statement of Faculty Senate Action:
APC DOCUMENT #14: Changes in Mass Communication
I. Requirements for declaration of major
DELETE page 137: Under Mass Communication, the section titled
"Mass Communication Major," that begins "Declaring a
major in..."
ADD page 137, following the section "Mass Communication
Major Requirements," a new section as follows:
Declaration of Major
Students interested in the Mass Communication
major should meet with a member of the Mass
Communication faculty to learn about the program. A
major in Mass Communication may be formally declared by
students who have completed Lang 102 and either LR 101
or 102, and who also have completed, with a grade of C
or better, each of the following courses: MCOM 190,
201 and 203. Students meeting these criteria must
obtain a signed Declaration of Major form from the
department chair.
RATIONALE Our examination of student academic performance in
the major over the past six years indicates that
success in the major is closely predicted by
satisfactory performance in these three introductory
courses.
IMPACT The overall number of Mass Communication majors
will decline by perhaps as much as one-third. Our
current number of majors is inflated by the existence,
as majors, of students who have not yet completed the
190, 201 and 203 courses, and who will drop out of the
major at some point in the sequence. However, we
expect no drop in the number of students graduating
from the program. No impact on other programs.
II. Changes in prerequisites
#1
DELETE page 137, in the section titled "Mass Communication
Major Requirements," Part III.
CHANGE page 137, section titled "Mass Communication Major
Requirements," Part IV.
Make the IV. a III.
RATIONALE Students and faculty from other departments don't
seem to notice this item when looking up individual
courses. Prerequisites need to be seen to be obeyed.
#2
ADD page 137, to the course description for MCOM 201, the
following prerequisite:
Prerequisites: Completion of the General Education
English Language Requirement and MCOM 190.
DELETE page 138, prerequisite for MCOM 203.
ADD page 138, to the course description for MCOM 203, the
following prerequisite:
Prerequisites: Completion of the General Education
English Language Requirement and MCOM 190.
RATIONALE MCOM 190 provides an introduction to the mass
communication process at a conceptual level, which we
believe is essential in giving students an
understanding of the rationale for the specific writing
formats taught in MCOM 201 and 203. Historically,
students taking 190, freshman writing and 201 or 203
out of sequence have not performed well in the latter
classes. However, completion of 201 is not essential
to success in 203.
IMPACT The only Department affected is Education, which
requires 201 for its English Language Certification
track. This change adds 3 credit hours to their
program. The overall number of students affected is
relatively small. The Mass Communication Department
realizes the credit hour pressures that exist for the
Education Department, and has asked the Education Chair
to comment on this change to the APC.
#3
CHANGE and ADD The prerequisites for each of the courses listed
below as indicated.
RATIONALE The general rationale for the ADDITIONS is that
the prerequisite is no longer listed in III on page 137
due to change #1 above. Further, because the minor
requires students to take either 201 or 203,
contradicting the current policy requiring both courses
as prerequisite to all upper level offerings. The
changes listed below match the two writing courses to
the appropriate upper-level classes. MCOM 201 is the
basic print media writing course, MCOM 203 is the basic
electronic media writing course.
IMPACT None outside the department.
COURSE PREREQUISITE ADDED
301 Prerequisite: MCOM 201 or permission of instructor.
303 Prerequisite: MCOM 203 or permission of instructor.
321 Prerequisite: MCOM 201 or permission of instructor.
323 Prerequisite: MCOM 201 or permission of instructor.
325 Prerequisite: MCOM 201 or permission of instructor.
331 Prerequisite: MCOM 203 or permission of instructor.
335 Prerequisites: MCOM 303, or permission of instructor.
343 Prerequisites: Mass Communication Majors: MCOM 201 or
203, or permission of instructor. Management Majors:
MGMT 200 and 350, or permission of instructor.
345 Prerequisites: Mass Communication Majors: MCOM 201 or
203, or permission of instructor. Management Majors:
MGMT 200 and 350, or permission of instructor.
362 Prerequisites: MCOM 201 or 203, or permission of
instructor.
364 Prerequisites: MCOM 201 or 203, or permission of
instructor.
382 Prerequisites: MCOM 201 or 203, or permission of
instructor.
384 Prerequisites: MCOM 201 or 203, or permission of
instructor.
386 Prerequisites: MCOM 201 or 203, or permission of
instructor.
390 Prerequisites: MCOM 201 or 203, or permission of
instructor.
421 Prerequisites: MCOM 301, or permission of instructor.
433 Prerequisites: MCOM 303, or permission of instructor.
435 Prerequisites: MCOM 335, or permission of instructor.
482 Prerequisites: MCOM 201 or 203, or permission of
instructor.
484 Prerequisites: MCOM 201 or 203, or permission of
instructor.
490 Prerequisites: MCOM 201 or 203, or permission of
instructor.
492 Prerequisites: MCOM 201 or 203, or permission of
instructor.
451 Prerequisites: Students must obtain department approval
for internship credit, and should meet with the
instructor to obtain internship criteria and
application forms.
NOTE: THE PREREQUISITE FOR MANAGEMENT MAJORS FOR MCOM 343 AND 345
DOES NOT REPRESENT A CHANGE.
III. Course description change
DELETE Course description for MCOM 321, Editing, page 138.
ADD New Course description, as follows:
Copy reading and headline writing; publication layout
and design using desktop publishing computer software.
Prerequisite: MCOM 201 or permission of instructor.
RATIONALE New description more closely follows course
content.
IMPACT None